How to prep for Med School?

I'm not in medical school yet (start in July), but I can tell you that everyone here will recommend that you do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to prepare because it's going to be likely the last time of your life where you'll have a few months to simply relax.

There will be minimal advantage to studying the basic sciences or anything else you think might be covered, simply because you don't know the scope or depth of what your school will cover come fall.

Just take it easy for a few months, do something fun, travel, do research if you enjoy it, etc...

MS2 here.

My advice: sleep, eat, sleep, eat, drink, party. If you have a SO spend time on your relationship - make sure it's strong before you enter med school or break it off before you enter (sounds harsh, but from experience it's true). Save up some cash, pay off your credit cards or car loans or other consumer debt as school loans won't really allow much for these additional expenditures.

Was looking for a thread like this.

Appreciate the advice.

Wizard of Oz said:

Bona-fide med student here. If you have been accepted, you are prepared.

How to prep for med school? Get your budgetary concerns in order, engage in a hobby, spend time with loved ones. You're not at a disadvantage by not being a science major. Trust me--many science degrees here, 400 college hours, no advantage.

Best of luck.

Yoda: "No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need.

Luke: "Then am I a Jedi?"

Yoda: "Ohhh. Not yet. One thing remains: Vader. You must confront Vader. Then, only then, a Jedi will you be. And confront him you will.

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Wizard of Oz said:

Bona-fide med student here. If you have been accepted, you are prepared.

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Agree with this 100%. Use the time before med school to taunt all your friends who haven't yet heard.

I don't agree with the general consensus here.

I'm only a first year, but as a science major in undergrad I found that I just have an overall quicker grasp of concepts in many of the classes versus my non-science major friends in class.

I did some minor anatomy review a month before taking it and I think it helped me honor the class.

I think it depends on your goals - do you want to be AOA and all honors to get that derm spot, etc., etc.? It's never too early to start studying specific subjects - just pick up a BRS review book, for instance.

MyNameIsOtto said:

I'm only a first year, but as a science major in undergrad I found that I just have an overall quicker grasp of concepts in many of the classes versus my non-science major friends in class.

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A lot of science majors on SDN like to talk about how much of an advantage they have, but whenever you look at the people at the tops and bottoms of a med school class, it ends up a pretty fair mix of sci and nonsci types at each end. If it helped you, that's great, but I am confident that there are more folks in your class whose science background or before med school review is proving fairly meaningless.

MyNameIsOtto said:

I don't agree with the general consensus here.

I'm only a first year, but as a science major in undergrad I found that I just have an overall quicker grasp of concepts in many of the classes versus my non-science major friends in class.

I did some minor anatomy review a month before taking it and I think it helped me honor the class.

I think it depends on your goals - do you want to be AOA and all honors to get that derm spot, etc., etc.? It's never too late to start studying specific subjects - just pick up a BRS review book, for instance.

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Did you mean it's never too early?

I totally agree with this post. If you truly want to honor everything, you might think about doing something now.

I'll give you an example: in our anatomy class, 15 people out of 180 honored. My good friend spent his summer before medical school memorizing all of the head and neck. In the end, he was one of those 15 people that honored, but only because he completely friggin rocked the head and neck section, he didn't do that great on the other sections. He didn't honor a single other class. That study time made all the difference for him.

Another example: my mentee (class of 2010) got an award for the highest grade in biochemistry because he spent the summer before M1 learning all of that stuff. He might have honored without that, but he wouldn't have had the highest grade out of 180 students, and that meant a lot to him.

I wish I'd studied before M1.

Lulu8 said:

So now that some people agree studying before med school starts might be productive, any suggestions on what I could use to study? A good review book? Any topics in particular you think might be good to invest some time in? (I know some of you mentioned anatomy and biochem?) thanks

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I don't know that you will achieve enough of an advantage to make it worth burning your last few months of sanity and freedom.

I will share with you some things that will definately prepare you for med school by echoing what everyone else said when I say drink, party, travel etc. One of the challenges of med school is not only the amount of work you have to do, it's trying to find time for your personal life. When I'm incredibly stressed like during exams, it helps me think about the traveling, partying I did before med school. Whatever you decide, you'll be fine. Good luck.

Lulu8 said:

Hi all. I can finally say I've gotten into medical school! But now I want to make sure I'm prepared when classes start. As a non-science major who graduated several years ago, I'm a little worried I won't know a lot of the basic science my fellow classmates will be familiar with. I have only taken the bare minimum science pre-reqs. I don't want to start med school at a disadvantage, so I was wondering if you all had any suggestions for ways to refresh/familiarize myself with med school topics? Any books you would recommend, etc.

Thanks!

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You know, every year we get the same kind of posts in allo from pre-alloers, and I'd say they fall into a few general categories:

1) "The Clearly-Belongs-In-Preallo-Question"
Usually includes the phrase "I was hoping for the opinion of med students themselves" to try to give it legitimacy in Allo. While you can't blame them for wanting to cut through the outright nutballs that populate Pre-Allo, these threads are usually bespeckled by "Move to Pre-allo" responses. We want to scream "IF I WANTED TO REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A PREMED, I'D STAB MYSELF IN THE NUTS AND SUCK ON AN EXHAUST PIPE". ...but in my day the cars were diesel, and didn't have that p***y ethanol taste.

2) "The School ABC-vs.-School XYZ-Dilemma"
Every year, starting around say November or so, some lucky applicants have already received more than one acceptance. Congratulations are in order....briefly. But honestly, the answer's always the same. Go to the one that's either significantly better or meets your needs best or you felt most at home or look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what blah blah blah blah blah blah something-about-values blah blah blah something-about location blah blah blah residency matches. It's not rocket science, but people still need to be told. Additionally, med students don't mind giving a little of the pros/cons of their school, but they certainly aren't intending to try to "win" you, and it's less than classless to bash another school. Bottom line: 1) you're not impressing anyone, 2) as much as you're "so stressed!" about your decision, go over to pre-allo and watch as people clamor for just one acceptance on their waitlists, or are literally praying to God they get an interview at even the lower tier schools, 3) the decision doesn't really have to be made until, what, March? May? I forget what the deadline to decide is. Cynicism has taught us that while some may be legitimately trying to weigh the two, chances are just as likely the guy just wants to broadcast his acceptance list.

3) "The I-Got-Into-Medical-School-What-Should-I-Do-To-Prepare"
While this question always gets the same spread of responses:
-do nothing,
-party
-read non-science things,
-travel,
-standard neurotic-premed-mocking
I actually like this brand of thread. Sure, it's a little gunnerish, but what successful med student doesn't have a gunner streak in him? You've got to admire the enthusiasm. There's nothing more annoying than a pre-med who's playing the "already jaded" persona. You're going to hate medicine, and we're going to hate working with you. So she's excited to start, so she wants to be prepared, so she's got the humility to be nervous about whether she can hack it. I like it. People respond to enthusiasm and humility. In fact, most of your grades will rely on it. Keep it on the right side of brown-nosing and go to it. Plus there's the chance she's willing to sleep her way to the top, and we all benefit by being runs on her ladder to success.

You know what, Lulu? Pick one or two and go with it. You're going to be just fine.

just going to contribute my thoughts here. i am a fourth year med student, and i think i made the most of my summer before med school. i took a few art classes, visited some friends, travelled, and bonded with the fam. studying before med school may help you in one class, but that one class alone is not going to propel you to aoa status. second year is worth much more than first year, anyway, in terms of weight of classes and ability to make junior aoa. i say...enjoy your last chance of freedom.

I smoked a lot, and I mean alot, of really, really, really, good herb (but hey, I'm an addict) and first year went fine. Now, I do not suggest enjoying copious amount of marijuana (although a toke or two if you don't have a problem wont hurt), but merely point out that you should enjoy what is left of the rest of your normal life. I liked the financial advice, wish someone had said something to me similar. Please have fun and do whatever it is that you want to do.

The only subject I have ever suggested going into medical school is histology. The learning curve is "interesting" . . . because studying is a bit different than reading notes and listening to lecture. If you take histo you'll be seeing and differentiating tissue while your colleagues are only able to make out pink and purple.

Sleep, have lots of sex (safe of course), sleep some more, read some novels, engage in the hobbies you love, work out, sleep some more.

Honestly, if you are the type who is going to honor things you will do it without killing your last truely free summer of your life. Your first year grades count so little towards your residency application compared to other components that ruining that summer to honor one class instead of high passing it is just silly. Enjoy yourself, you'll have plenty of time to slave away at the basic sciences over the next two years, sure you could make a small dent in it on your own, but is that really worth all the care free fun you could have.

jdh71 said:

I smoked a lot, and I mean alot, of really, really, really, good herb (but hey, I'm an addict) and first year went fine. Now, I do not suggest enjoying copious amount of marijuana (although a toke or two if you don't have a problem wont hurt), but merely point out that you should enjoy what is left of the rest of your normal life. I liked the financial advice, wish someone had said something to me similar. Please have fun and do whatever it is that you want to do.

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While I personally don't have anything against a 'lil herbal refreshment, it's really important to note that most (if not all) med students may be subject to drug testing. So you might be better off just drinking lots and lots of alcohol instead, 'mkay?

If you did well enough on the MCAT and in your premed prereqs to nab an acceptance, you are prepared. If you're really worried, see if your school has a summer pre-matriculation program for incoming MS1s.

If you really want to gun it (you know who you are), I'd recommend getting a copy of Netters Anatomy Atlas and studying to memorize as many structures as you can. It will help with gross in med school, which will free up time for other things.

psipsina said:

Honestly, if you are the type who is going to honor things you will do it without killing your last truely free summer of your life.

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Agree with this statement. Also bear in mind that for every person on this thread who is reporting some advantage gained due to summer study, there are probably several others who totally wasted their time. And the folks who claim an advantage will never actually know whether they would have done just as well without the added review -- I suspect they would have. As psipsina suggested, the uber smart folks who are going to honor everything tend to rise to the top regardless of when they start.
You will do far better if you are able to hit med school full speed than burnt out. Think of this summer as your "bye week" like in football. The well rested team is often at an advantage.

BellyDancingDoc said:

While I personally don't have anything against a 'lil herbal refreshment, it's really important to note that most (if not all) med students may be subject to drug testing. So you might be better off just drinking lots and lots of alcohol instead, 'mkay?

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Really? I did not know that med schools starting drug testing regularly. Since entering recovery I get tested, much less now that I'm sober 2.5 years, but I didn't realize anyone was getting tested as routine . . . if this is the case, then yes, avoid the green-goodness . . . but I guess my larger point was that spending the time between now and med school studying would be a horrible idea.

psipsina said:

Sleep, have lots of sex (safe of course), sleep some more, read some novels (about sex), engage in the hobbies you love (sex), work out, sleep some more.

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We all know what psipsina has on her mind...

OP, FWIW the bottom line is whatever you do, make sure to enjoy yourself too and don't get too caught up in the "what did I just get myself into, I have to do something to get ahead" vibe. No matter what you do now to prepare, it will more than likely be overwhelmed by whatever is on your first set of exams 8-9 months from now...

"Every time I learn something new, something old gets pushed out. Like that time I took a wine-making class and forgot how to drive."
~Homer J. Simpson

LJDHC05 said:

We all know what psipsina has on her mind...

OP, FWIW the bottom line is whatever you do, make sure to enjoy yourself too and don't get too caught up in the "what did I just get myself into, I have to do something to get ahead" vibe. No matter what you do now to prepare, it will more than likely be overwhelmed by whatever is on your first set of exams 8-9 months from now...

"Every time I learn something new, something old gets pushed out. Like that time I took a wine-making class and forgot how to drive."
~Homer J. Simpson

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lol, well I'm a married lady so I'm allowed to have that on my mind , but seriously its one of the many things that you don't have enough time to do as much as you want to, or as well as you want to once you have started school.

psipsina said:

lol, well I'm a married lady so I'm allowed to have that on my mind , but seriously its one of the many things that you don't have enough time to do as much as you want to, or as well as you want to once you have started school.

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Sounds like a wager to me.

1.TRAVEL... you wont have time for this again in your 20s
2. Drink with friends, meet girls/guys, and have fun with them... trust me you'll wish you did
3. Read non-science books.. (I endorse: Freakonomics, Ugly Americans, and The Fountainhead)


But if you really want to get your gunner juices rollin', then go buy Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy and USMLE Step 1 First Aid. The former will get you nervous once you realize the amount of information you have to memorize for just one med school class and hopefully it will motivate you to invest more time in the the three items above. The latter is more useful as it gives you not just an overview of what is covered on the most important exam of you life (and i bet you thought the MCAT was most important, ha!), but also some good info about the whole med school process including residency.

thesauce said:

Did you mean it's never too early?

I totally agree with this post. If you truly want to honor everything, you might think about doing something now.

I'll give you an example: in our anatomy class, 15 people out of 180 honored. My good friend spent his summer before medical school memorizing all of the head and neck. In the end, he was one of those 15 people that honored, but only because he completely friggin rocked the head and neck section, he didn't do that great on the other sections. He didn't honor a single other class. That study time made all the difference for him.
I wish I'd studied before M1.

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I've seen a lot of talk concerning 'head and neck.' I'm just wondering, is that just the anatomy of head and neck? Does that include neuroanatomy? What makes it so hard?

It's sort of a personal choice between the "relax & enjoy" vs. nerd out approach. But if one does go with a nerd out approach, I think it is best to select a relatively narrow area, that one will definately have to learn in med school & master it.
THe sauce's example of the person of the anatomy of the head & neck is as good as any.

If there was one thing that I could have done to prepare myself for class, it would have been to do a light anatomy review - i.e. knowing the names of muscles and bones. I wish I would have opened my anatomy flashcards before gross started. In no way do I think you could prepare for gross during the summer, so don't try.

The summer before I started school, I spent a lot of time enjoying myself and visiting family and getting settled into my new house close to campus. It was fabulous.

The OP should obviously start preparing for Step 1. After all, it's right around the corner (only 2.5 years!!!!!).

thesauce said:

Did you mean it's never too early?

I totally agree with this post. If you truly want to honor everything, you might think about doing something now.

I'll give you an example: in our anatomy class, 15 people out of 180 honored. My good friend spent his summer before medical school memorizing all of the head and neck. In the end, he was one of those 15 people that honored, but only because he completely friggin rocked the head and neck section, he didn't do that great on the other sections. He didn't honor a single other class. That study time made all the difference for him.

Another example: my mentee (class of 2010) got an award for the highest grade in biochemistry because he spent the summer before M1 learning all of that stuff. He might have honored without that, but he wouldn't have had the highest grade out of 180 students, and that meant a lot to him.

I wish I'd studied before M1.

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I see this as a good example of why NOT to study ahead of time. Your friend spent an entire summer studying a single portion of a single class, and though he managed to honor that one class, he didn't honor anything else. Since you obviously cannot study for everything in such depth over the summer, and since one honors in first year won't matter in the least in the long run, why study?

Instead, get nice clothes, get the rest of your life in order, and enjoy yourself. If it's been a while since you've had school, it might be a good idea to remind yourself how to study. But reading Netter or (even worse) reading First Aid is just a waste of valuable time that you could be doing something else.

If you have some burning urge to do something medically related, go shadow physicians in specialties that you might be interested in. Build some contacts for later, since this time can be tough to come by in MS1-2.

I was an English major in undergrad and took the BARE MINIMUM requirements for being pre-med. i took 2 years "off" from school. I did fine my first term...better than fine!

You will soon realize that your freetime is very precious and what free-time you have left you should enjoy. whatever you prep for will just be a waste of time since you won't possibly get into the groove of it until you actually get there.

my advice: med school is going to be a PART of your life. not your ENTIRE life. learn to balance work and play. work hard and play hard, when you can.

Iwy Em Hotep said:

I see this as a good example of why NOT to study ahead of time. Your friend spent an entire summer studying a single portion of a single class, and though he managed to honor that one class, he didn't honor anything else. Since you obviously cannot study for everything in such depth over the summer, and since one honors in first year won't matter in the least in the long run, why study?

Instead, get nice clothes, get the rest of your life in order, and enjoy yourself. If it's been a while since you've had school, it might be a good idea to remind yourself how to study. But reading Netter or (even worse) reading First Aid is just a waste of valuable time that you could be doing something else.

If you have some burning urge to do something medically related, go shadow physicians in specialties that you might be interested in. Build some contacts for later, since this time can be tough to come by in MS1-2.

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A single honor might separate you from AOA or not. That's certainly a big deal. For me, studying before M1 would have been a great thing.

I don't advocate cracking open a book. What I would do it buy a set of anatomy videos (dissection videos, etc.) and watch them a few times. That's how my buddy learned the head and neck before M1 and it certainly worked for him.

AggieJohn said:

I've seen a lot of talk concerning 'head and neck.' I'm just wondering, is that just the anatomy of head and neck? Does that include neuroanatomy? What makes it so hard?

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Neuroscience is a separate class. Head and Neck is part of gross anatomy. It's not hard, it just happens to be what my friend chose to study before M1.

85% of the head is learning the 12 cranial nerves (their routes and what they do). Once you've got those down, it's cake. So it's not that hard to learn.

300 posts baby!!!

I'd advise against studying in advance. Instead, I'd recommend that you adopt a healthy lifestyle (if you're not already doing) by:

1) trying to develop regular sleep hours, aim for 7-8 hours every night
2) start eating healthy
3) begin an exercise programme

the above are the things that will help you long into the course and career.

studying in advance would most certainly be futile as it's almost impossible for anyone on holidays to study at a pace at which your course will run. in the summer before M1, i spent most of it studying biochem; when i started M1, everything i've studied (and much more) was covered in 1st two weeks.

it's better to do the above 3 things so that when you get stressed in the future, you have those things to rely upon.

good luck!!!!